Virgin Galactic will conduct its final VSS Unity flight test on May 25

CTOnews.com Virgin Galactic will conduct its final VSS Unity flight test on May 25, which should be Virgin Galactic's last mission before commercial spaceflight begins.

The company's commercial space program has been delayed several times, most recently due to the challenge of upgrading the VMS Eve"mothership," which took Unity to an altitude of 50,000 feet.

Virgin made its first manned spaceflight in July 2021, with founder Richard Branson personally flying to the edge of space. Now, a successful test could be crucial for Virgin Galactic, which is still losing money, losing more than $500 million in 2022.

Virgin Galactic costs $450,000 per "ticket"(CTOnews.com notes: currently about 3.15 million yuan) and requires a deposit of $150,000 (currently about 1.05 million yuan). Commercial services can help Virgin contain these losses and fund its long-term plans, including the next-generation Delta, which will be put into use in 2026.

In addition to internal economic pressures, there are external pressures. Jeff Bezos 'Blue Origin has begun successfully sending users into space, and SpaceX is slowly realizing its dream of lunar tourism. While these flights are also out of reach for many ordinary people, Virgin still doesn't want to see its potential customers snatched away by competitors.